


Brother's Keeper

by RainyDayKid



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys In Love, Boys' Love, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Depression, Discipline, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Light Angst, Love, M/M, Overprotective, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Will, Protective Older Brothers, Romance, Sibling Incest, Sibling Love, Slash, Spanking, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2018-08-17 08:12:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8136863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainyDayKid/pseuds/RainyDayKid
Summary: Nico and Will are adopted siblings but for all the fun Will lets him have, he might as well be another parent. Then there are the punishments...





	1. Chapter 1

“Pass it to me.”

Aaron passed it over. Nico di Angelo gratefully took a long hit but it turned out to be the wrong time because right at that moment, the school door to the parking lot opened and Will Solace just had to walk out.

“Oh shit,” Nico cursed and tried to hide the joint behind him but it was too late. Will had spotted him and the lingering smoke curling in the air. His blue eyes widened then lighted with anger and he marched straight towards him with determination in every step.

“Here,” Nico regretfully gave the shared joint back to one of the guys. He didn’t need to take another look at Will to know he was definitely in trouble.

Travis chuckled. “Guess we’ll see you around Nico.”

“Or not,” Connor grinned. “If Will decides to ground you.” The circle of guys laughed while Nico grit his teeth. His friends had always found it funny how much parental control his brother had over him but they had no idea.

“Nico,” Will growled through clenched teeth. “Come with me. Now.” The blonde didn’t even give him a chance to move as he grabbed his arm in a tight grip and dragged him away.

Will dragged him through the empty school hallways. The building was practically empty now that classes had ended. Thankfully this meant no one besides him was there to hear Will berating him loudly.

“…and after last time! What did I tell you…”

Finally, Will dragged him an empty classroom and slammed the door shut behind them, making sure to lock it.

“God Will, relax! it was just weed. It’s not bad for you,” Nico exclaimed, knowing his defense would make no difference. They had had this argument a hundred times.

“It’s not okay, Nico! You can’t do it!” Will went on to lecture him on the evils of all drugs but Nico had heard this speech before so he sort of tuned it out, which turned out to be a big mistake.

“Nico, are you listening to me?” Will demanded.

Nico focused his big dark eyes back on him. “No, sorry. I’m still super high.” He grinned dreamily.

That did it. Will yanked him towards him where he sat on the teachers desk and bent Nico over his lap. Then brought his hand down quickly in an angry row of spanks on Nico’s ass.

Nico groaned in protest but lay resigned as he received his punishment.

Finally, Will ran out of steam and let him up. Nico scowled, the spanking having effectively brought him down from his high.

Will took a deep calming breath before taking his arm. “Come on, we’re going home.”


	2. Chapter 2

Nico looked around, bored. He sat at a lunch table next to Will who was currently chatting with Austin and Kayla.

Nico spotted the Stoll’s and watched them with interest as it appeared they were up to something, probably another one of their pranks.

He slid a little farther from Will on the bench, wondering if he could slip away unnoticed.

Without turning around, Will reached an arm around his waist and pulled him right back to his side, not even breaking his conversation.

Nico scowled. Will always got like this after he got in trouble. He’d keep him close to him for days and an eye on him at all times. He took his hand going to places like an overprotective parent with a young child. 

Finally, they got up as lunch ended and students started filing out.

“Nico,” Will said sternly as the dark haired boy had started moving away from them. “Stay with me,” he admonished.

Nico scowled. “I’m have to get to my own class, Will.”

“Then I’ll walk you.”

Nico gritted his teeth in resigned silence as Will took his hand and escorted him to his next class. He walked him right up to the front of the door and even waited for Nico to sit down at his desk before heading to his own class. Nico rolled his eyes.

 

That night, Will and Nico sat at the dinner table with their parents as they all shared stories about their day.

“So Will,” Apollo cleared his throat. “How’s Nico been lately?”

Nico scowled as he was in the act of passing the salad bowl. It wasn’t surprising that their parents asked Will how he’d been instead of asking him as he never shared about his day unlike the rest of them. Usually Will answered ‘fine’ if nothing had happened but this time he knew what his brother was going to say.

“I caught him getting high after school yesterday.” Will expression turned to one of disapproval as he remembered the incident.

His parents took on similarly disapproving and stern expressions as they faced Nico.

“Son, your mother and I told you we do not tolerate drugs in this house. Remember our talk about making bad decisions? Why did you do this?

Nico shrugged. The answer was simple. “He offered.”

His parents didn’t like this answer. “We’ll talk more about this later and we’ll schedule another therapy session,” Naomi Solace finished the matter then turned towards their other son. “Have you punished him already?"

Will nodded, “I did.”

It was an unspoken matter but their parents knew how Will punished him. And while they didn’t encourage it, they allowed Will to spank him. When Nico was younger, his parents more had the job of punishing him than Will but now they rarely did and Will was the one he mostly got spanked by. Though only occasionally still as he’d gotten punished less and less as he grew older. 

“Well, alright then. I think that will be enough,” Naomi reasoned. Thankfully they didn’t add any more punishments on top of Will’s like they usually did. Though their punishments now were only grounding him or taking away his phone. His parents had stopped taking him over the knee a long while ago which Nico was thankful for.

“Now, you look after him and tell us if he gets in any more trouble,” Apollo told Will.

The words were unnecessary but Will nodded anyway.

Will acted as a chaperon for Nico while they were in school. Or as Nico sarcastically thought, _his babysitter_. Their parents relied on Will to look after the youngest and give them updates on how he was doing. But Nico knew full well that even if they didn’t expect him to do this, Will would still play the role of his caretaker.

 

It was before bedtime and Nico sat on a table while Will shined a flashlight in his eyes and took his pulse.

“Show me your wrists.”

Nico held his arms out, palms facing upwards as Will examined them for any fresh cuts.

“Have you taken your meds?”

“Yes.”

“All of them? The iron? The anti depressants? The sleeping pi-”

“Yes, yes and yes,” Nico interrupted. There was a time when Will had controlled all his medications but that was back when he’d abused his prescription pills to get high. But now Nico had earned his trust back and he didn’t do that anymore.

“Good. How do you feel?”

Nico just stared at him blankly. He didn’t bother to answer this question.

Will sighed. “Okay.” He gave his little brother a hug then stated, “time for bed.”

Nico reveled in the warmth of the embrace for a moment before sliding off the table. He got under the covers as Will hit the lights then wasn’t surprised to feel the bed dip from the other side as Will got into bed next to him. The blonde had often taken to sleeping next to him to comfort him if he woke up from nightmares instead of sleeping in his own room.

In the dark, Will wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist and pulled him closer to his body. Nico wasn’t mad at Will for punishing him or telling their parents. He knew his brother did it because he cared about him a lot, way more than other siblings, and he knew better than to not be grateful. Yes, sometimes Will could be too overprotective and even stricter than their parents but Nico still loved him anyway. And that was why he wrapped his arms around Will and embraced him back as they fell asleep in the dark.  

 


	3. Chapter 3

Nico shut off the alarm a second after it started.

He could never stand the sound.

He turned to survey the profile of the boy laying next to him.

Blonde hair strewn across his forehead and pillow. Small even breaths. Still eyelids rested closed.

Nico felt familiar apathy settling into his bones. School. Long day ahead. Sigh. At least he had two free periods today.

Okay time to get out of bed. No point in waiting now that the brief peace that always clung to him from his much needed slumber had dissipated in the morning light.

Slowly slipping his feet out of bed, he felt the heavy weight of sleep on his limbs. But it was more than just sleep. It was the weight of the long day ahead of him, the weight of endless ticking seconds, shuffling papers, a cacophony of voices, the weight of the lives of everyone else, crushing down upon him. And they wondered why his posture was hunched.

Still he got out of bed. Everyday. It was a monumental, grueling task and there were even days Nico thought he might not be able to do it. But he did. He had no choice. He was shackled to his life.

Will stretched and yawned. “Good Morning.”

Was it? How could Will say that? And in a cheery voice no less.

Things really must be easy for him. Except that wasn’t true. Will worked as hard as anyone did.

It was hard for everyone.

But Nico wondered if it was harder for him.

 

“You going tonight?”

It took a second for the words to even register. Whenever he was in school, it seemed as though a thick web of haze cocooned him, slowing down anything that tried to reach him. Noises, smells, stimuli were all muffled like background static. His reaction time was always delayed.

The drugs probably weren’t helping.

He turned from his locker to peer at the person next to him. Short blonde hair sticking up, blue eyes, tall, broad frame, letterman jacket- ah Jason. Of course, it was Jason.

“You mean the party?” Drew Tanaka suffered from a compulsive disorder of throwing parties every other week.

“Yeah.” Jason leaned against the locker and folded his arms. “I’m taking Piper,” he grinned excitedly.

Nico rolled his eyes. For whatever reason Jason had never gotten over the honeymoon phase of his relationship with Piper Mclean. Even though they’d been dating for 7 months, he still doodled her name and made heart eyes like a lovesick school boy.

Piper wasn’t much better. He had seen the two holding hands as they walked down hallways with eyes only for each other.

It was sickening.

“Well I’m taking Will with me.” That sounded better than Will was going chaperone him and that was the only way he’d _get_ to go to the party. He frowned. Though now that he thought about it, that sounded as though Will was his date….

“I mean as a friend; we’re arriving together…” he trailed off as Jason laughed. The blonde clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude I know. You’re brothers.” His eyes slid from Nico to someone behind him. “I’ll see you at the party.” He clapped his shoulder one more time before moving on to talk to a team mate.

Aaron and the Stolls were going to be at the party tonight so there was a good chance he’d score. All he had to do was separate from Will as soon as they arrived and avoid him for the rest of the night. Which was not going to be easy.


	4. Chapter 4

Will Solace and Nico di Angelo stepped onto a brick path as they stared up at the two story house looming in front of them. It was night and the street lit only by lamplight. The neighborhood was quiet save for the residence in front of them from where dull music throbbed from behind the walls. The two boys looked as dissimilar as boys could be. One was tall and blonde, wearing carefree shorts and a checkered button down open over a surf Barbados t-shirt. Sandals graced his feet. The other slender, slightly shorter and clad in a tight band tee underneath a black jacket paired with black jeans and combat boots to complete the image. His coloring was contrast in the extreme with jet black hair and bone pale skin.

The blonde took a deep breath and turned to face his companion, hands shoved casually in the pockets of his shorts. “Once we get in there-”

“Let me guess, stick close by you at all times?” Nico asked bitterly.

Will smiled a little ruefully. “Actually, I was going to say… I want you to have fun tonight.” He looked down, foot kicking at some dirt. “I know I’ve been kind of… hard on you lately so…” he looked back up. “Enjoy yourself. Don’t go overboard but have fun.”

Nico blinked surprised. Then he felt guilty. Will sounded so sincere. He really did just want him to be happy for one night and here Nico was planning on going behind his back to get high. Was it really worth it?

They walked up the steps toward the open door, music growing louder. People were hanging everywhere: on the stairs, in the alcove, weaving to and from the kitchen, lined up against the walls, and splayed over the couches.

Will leaned toward him, “I’m gonna look for Austin and Kayla,” he shouted over the din.

Nico nodded. “See you later.”

Will cast him one last lingering look before descending into the throng of heated bodies.

Nico glanced around. He spotted Drew descending the staircase gossiping rapidly with her scantily clad girlfriends, Mitchell grinding against some guy in the corner and Jason Grace who tore his eyes off Piper to wave at him from across the room.

Nico waved back then turned at the sound of his name. “Oh hey Cecil.”

“Hey man, I haven’t seen you in a while…” The two caught up until they were joined shortly by Lou Ellen. Slowly, Nico made his way around the room, talking with different people. Huh, maybe he could do this, maybe he didn’t need anything extra. He felt pretty fine right now. He could spend the time just catching up with people, engaging in pleasant conversation.

A hand fell on his shoulder and he almost bristled. People really needed to stop touching him.

Ellis grinned at him. “Hey man, I’ve been looking for you. Come on, the real party’s upstairs.” Nico turned and followed him, pausing on the middle of the stairs when he caught sight of Will down in the crowd. His brother was talking animatedly with Kayla and Austin. He tilted his head back and laughed at something Nico couldn’t hear. He was fine and looked happy so Nico turned and kept going.

 

Will weaved through the aggregated clusters of inebriated teenagers in the dim hallway. He entered a room made even dimmer by the thick smoke hanging in the air. It made the room even more claustrophobic than the clumps of people everywhere. The scent of marijuana and human sweat and sex attacked his senses and Will wrinkled his nose. He passed through a doorway into a smaller bedroom. There, star-fished on the bed, was Nico. He’d shed his jacket and his pale arms seemed to glow against the dark bedspread. Will felt a tightening in his gut as he made his way over to him.

“Nico.” The boy opened his eyes but didn’t focus on Will. The blonde pulled out a pen flashlight and shined it in his eye. The dark pupil stayed almost completely dilated.

Will felt anger course through his core. But it was mingled with disappointment and worse, the feeling that he’d expected this to happen.

He grabbed the boy’s arms, used them to draw him up and then bent and pulled him over his shoulder.

Walking back through the larger, more crowded room, Will spotted Nico’s jacket draped over a chair and grabbed that too.

Walking down the stairs with the semi conscious boy over his shoulder, he heard someone whistle suggestively at them but Will ignored it.

He went out the door and into the night.


End file.
